New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-11-13
TWO NEW NOVELS.
AN EXPERIMENT AND A STUDY.


The RIGHT HONORABLE BY JUSTIN MCCARTHY.
". r. and Mks CAMrBLLLPEAED limo PIP 30
u. Appleton & Co.
TIE REVOLUTION Is TANNERs LANE ny Marx
THERTOED Edited By his friend RLiBLN SHAI-
CUrT l2m0. Pr 1874 g. I. Putnain's sons
The experiment IN collaboration made by Justin
Mccarthy and Mrs. CaInpbeli-Praed Is unquestion-
ably successful 80 far as the difficult operation of
blending Is concerned The performance Is even.
smooth sustained The acutest eye cannot detect
any marks of Ioiner-woTk nor is IT pos
sible to attribute any chapter, page or sentence
with confidence to either Of the authors. Yet
the writer's say in PREDATORY note that every
character, incident. scene and page is JOINT Work.
and thought out and written out IN combina-
ton" The result, therefore, tcstIiics strongly to
the skill of the partners but when the story a. a
story comes to nc judged it is perhaps not so GER
tain that the duality OF conception and compost.
ton las produced better novel than either Of tho
writers could have made s;ngly. It's indeed good
and interesting romance. 1t treats English poll
tics with the fulness of knowledge TO lie
expected from Mr. Mccarthy, and English society
perhaps owes its exposition to the deit hand OF
Mrs Campbell-Praed. 1t has for hero rather
Disraelitish person named Sandiam Morse; one OF
those peculiar people who. like Ulysses arc ever
roaming with a hungry heart; who wander from
country 10 country. take service in foreign armies.
fight, now with Garibaldi presently with Don
Carlos anon under the Stars and Stripes
who throw themselves into alien politics.
and rise mlraculousy and make names, and then
become bored and drift away To some new field OF
activity. Possibly they constitute the modern YER
sion of the Wandering Jew. Certainly one meets
the genuine type seldom. The heroine IS sweet
Australian girl with the musical name koorali.
Hero and heroine marry unfortunately, and the n-
terest of the story lies in their dealings with the
trials brought upon them by their matrimonial mis-
takes The moral is sound. 1t one of duty
VIGOROUSLY achieved though at great
cost; and perhaps vcrisimilitude is not
strained by the idealizltion which I'M
putes to the wOmans superior strength OF re-
nuncation and moral stamina the successful pas
sage through the Last and most fiery trial. Incl
dentally there Is much bright description of fash
ionabe life and people Its inanties and its essen
tia dulness are well emphasized Then there is
sketch of the Social Dem ,cratc movement ending
in London riot and fierce clubbing by the police
Nowhere is there any lack of power or knowledge.
But nevertheless the reader familiar with JusiiG
McCarthy's manner may experience on concluding
the story half-for feeling that the cellabora
tive experiment has somehow fcttered the mas
culine writer and that the novel, bright as IT GER
tanly is wants the special charms OF brilliancy
and rerpe which characterize his unassstcd
stories No doubt the book proves that man
and a woman can together write thoroughly
homogeneous novel and really strong one But
we question whether it also clearly demonstrates
that the experiment brings a gain III added power
which is sufficient TO make 1T worth while
The author of "The Revolution in Tanners
Lane is one who cares more for substance than
form. In composing his stories he is also working
ont psychological problems which interest him.
His power is analytic rather than creative, ana no
has much of the specially modern tendency TO
mysticism. His present book shardly to be called
q novel; 1t is really study in peculiar class OF
English society. he central figure, Zachariah
Coleman. is a direct descendant from tho grim
saints who followed Cromwell. lie IS democrat
in fibre. an independent in worship, hater OF OPP
pression and corruption, a revolutioDist by DiIth
and beroditv Ii 10 with the inner even more
than the outer life Of this strange interesting
character that we are concerned. lie Is, indeed.
rouphv set in background of history, because 1T
is necessary to develop him through his surround
inea Thus 1t Is that we see him naturally joining
n secret society at time when such ASSOCIATION
was punished as treason; naturally 1oregatherihg
with agitators; naturally proceeding with his con
splracy and his deeply religious life nncoh-
scious of inconsistency. He Is indeed
national type. george Eliot knew aud has pictured
the kind of man. Silas Mariner would nave
hailed him as a brother. Adam Bede would have
understood him. Such men seek out powerful
preachers and attend church interestedly. The
sermon for them is O thesis to be pOndered, DIS.
cussed mentally aualy zed and agreed to or differed